Tunis: Tunisia deployed troops in the capital and imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Thursday as weeks of violent protests reached the city and new clashes erupted
further south with three people reported killed.
Under pressure after security forces opened fire on demonstrators over the weekend, killing between 20 and 50 people, the government fired the interior minister and said it would investigate alleged use of excessive force.
In a sign of increasing concern at the spreading protests over rising food prices and unemployment, troops rolled into the capital on armoured vehicles and trucks and
took up positions at major intersections.
Soldiers guarded the entrance to the Ettadhamen quarter where rioters burnt vehicles and attacked government offices late yesterday.
The presence of the army on the streets failed to prevent fresh violence in the centre today as security forces fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of demonstrators, a reporter said.
The interior ministry ordered a curfew from 8:00 pm (local time) today to 5:30 am on Thursday, citing "disturbances, pillaging and attacks against people and property which have occurred in some districts of the city".
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, January 13, 2011, 10:01